July, 2014

“Immigration has emerged as perhaps President Obama’s worst issue — definitely for today, and maybe of his entire presidency — when it comes to public perception,” The Fix reports.

“A new poll from AP-GfK shows more than two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) disapprove of Obama’s handling of the immigration issue in general. Just 31 percent approve — down from 38 percent two months ago. When you separate those most passionate about the issue, the difference is even more stark, with 57 percent opposed and just 18 percent in favor. That’s more than three-to-one.”

“Two years is a lifetime in politics. Just ask Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Roll Call reports.

“GOP operatives had all but written off the Tennessee Republican. In October 2012, it was revealed the anti-abortion rights physician had encouraged an ex-wife to have two abortions prior to their marriage and had carried on multiple affairs with patients and co-workers — an infraction for which he was fined $500 by a medical board.”

But now, in the final days of a primary race with Time Tracy (R), DesJarlais “is in a better position than Republicans ever anticipated. He might even win.”

Said Ginsburg: “My answer is I will do this job as long as I can do it full steam. When I feel myself slipping. When I can no longer think as sharply, write as quickly, that will be the time for me to leave the court.”

“The wheeling-and-dealing Richmond businessman at the center of the corruption case against former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell and his wife stepped into public view Wednesday with a pivotal assertion: For $65,000, he testified, Maureen McDonnell said she would help his company, with her husband’s blessing,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Jonnie Williams: “She said to me, ‘I have a background in nutritional supplements, and I can be helpful to you with this project with your company. The governor says it’s okay for me to help you, but I need you to help me with this financial situation.'”

“The House voted mostly along party lines Wednesday to authorize suing President Obama, which Republicans called a principled move to rein in an increasingly lawless president and Democrats and the White House dismissed as a taxpayer-financed political stunt,” Roll Call reports.

The Hill: “House Democratic leaders wasted no time Wednesday accusing Republicans of voting to sue President Obama as a first step toward their real goal: the impeachment of the Democratic president.”

Said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): “This isn’t about this lawsuit. This is about the road to impeachment.”

Former President George W. Bush has been working on a “highly personal project since leaving the White House: He has quietly completed a biography of his father, former President George H.W. Bush,” the AP reports.

Joe Klein: “There is a chance that the Republicans will try to impeach the President, especially later in the summer, after he announces a major Executive Order that will affect a large number–millions, perhaps–of the illegal immigrants now in the country. There is speculation that it will be a further expansion of the legal status he conferred on children brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents; perhaps the parents will now be included. There is likely to be an explosion if he does this–the Central American refugee crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border has made immigration the hottest of domestic issues. It is also the most toxic issue for Republicans, who hope to win the presidency someday–and the Senate this November.”

“House Speaker Boehner has said there will be no impeachment. That’s why he instituted a rather silly lawsuit against the President over–yet again–Obamacare, which aides say could be expanded if Obama goes for broke on the border. Boehner is trying to placate the GOP base. But he also promised that there would be no government shutdown in 2013 and got trampled by his troops. The Speaker knows there’s nothing the Democrats would rather have than impeachment and immigration as the dominant issues in the fall campaign. He also knows there’s nothing Rush Limbaugh would rather have; indeed, it would be a ratings bonanza–the base would go berserk.”

“I see this as sort of a ridiculous gambit by the President and his political team to try and change the narrative, raise money and turn out their base and raise money for an election that isn’t going to go their way. And I will just leave it at that.”

— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), in an interview with CNN, on the possibility of Republicans trying to impeach President Obama.

Nate Silver: “The scoreboard so far in July: Fox News has 95 mentions of impeachment, and MSNBC 448. That works out to about 2.7 mentions per hour of original programming on MSNBC, or once every 22 minutes.”

President Obama asked Republicans to stop “hating” and “being mad all the time” during a Wednesday speech, The Hill reports.

Said Obama: “”Stop being mad all the time. Stop. Stop just hating all the time. C’mon … I know they’re not happy that I’m president but that’s okay. I got a couple of years left. C’mon … then you can be mad at the next president.”

Roll Call: “A Congress known for its dysfunction and acrimony may be on the verge of a rare triple combo — passing major bills addressing the border crisis, the Veterans Affairs scandal and the Highway Trust Fund in one week. But if it happens, it’s going to be like the rest of the 113th: ugly.”

About Political Wire

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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